There are many links to great resources on pediatric septic shock in the blog. See Categories –> Pediatrics, Pediatric Emergency Medicine for posts on this uncommon but vital topic. Alternatively, type septic shock in the search box for a list of posts and links.

What follows is just the introduction to Dr. Fox’s Capillary Refill & Shock [go there now and review. It won’t take long].

The critically ill infant and child can be “tricky” to spot sometimes. Often the phrase “That kid just doesn’t look right,” is heard around the room of critically ill children. So we recognize that “something isn’t right,” but have a hard time putting our finger on what is wrong. Often the problem stems from the fact that the blood pressure “reassures” us. We have discussed several topics related to shock previously (ex, Epi vs Dopa, Pediatric Shock Index*, and Damage Control Resuscitation), but now let us focus on recognizing SHOCK and one important aspect – Capillary Refill.